If you haven’t been bombarded with CBD marketing or raves about it from friends, get ready. This extract—which comes from either marijuana or its industrial cousin, hemp—is popping up everywhere. There are CBD capsules, tinctures, and liquids for vaping plus CBD-infused lotions, beauty products, snacks, coffee, and even vaginal suppositories. Already some 1,000 brands of CBD products are available in stores—and online in states that don’t have lenient cannabis laws. This is a tiny fraction of what’s to come: The CBD market is poised to exceed $1 billion by 2020, per the Chicago-based research firm Brightfield Group.
Most human studies of CBD have been done on people who have seizures, and the FDA recently approved the first CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, for rare forms of epilepsy. Clinical trials for other conditions are promising, but tiny. In one Brazilian study published in 2011 of people with generalized social anxiety disorder, for example, taking a 600-mg dose of CBD (higher than a typical dose from a tincture) lessened discomfort more than a placebo, but only a dozen people were given the pill.
The reason for the low THC content in hemp is that most THC is formed in resin glands on the buds and flowers of the female cannabis plant. Industrial hemp is not cultivated to produce buds, and therefore lacks the primary component that forms the marijuana high. Furthermore, industrial hemp has higher concentrations of a chemical called Cannabidiol (CBD) that has a negative effect on THC and lessens its psychoactive effects when smoked in conjunction.
The important thing is that you have to be SUPER careful when selecting CBD oils. Since the cannabis industry is not FDA-regulated, there have been dozens and dozens of companies trying to get away with selling very low quality (and even potentially toxic), “snake oils” that have been extracted using harsh chemical solvents like butane and hexane. Make sure you stay away from cheap products like these, as they could damage your health.
I have just started on my CBD journey. This is day 3. My knees do not hurt and I am definitely able to tell the difference when things were off. The nights are pain-free. I have a job that I spend a lot of time on my feet, and easily do over 14000 steps just for my job. My feet use to hurt so bad by the end of the night, that I actually would cry on the drive home. This allows me to have much less pain, and an easier time falling and staying asleep.

“This product has worked for me, when I was sure nothing could. I have a large mass of platinum coils behind my right eye, due to an arterial injury about 15 years ago. The foreign body has caused nerve oversensitivity, resulting in embarrassing facial ticks and eye movement restriction. The CBC oil twice a day has dramatically improved face and eye function in just one month. Thank you!“

Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa var. sativa is the variety grown for industrial use in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere, while C. sativa subsp. indica generally has poor fiber quality and is primarily used for production of recreational and medicinal drugs. The major difference between the two types of plants is the appearance and the amount of THC secreted in a resinous mixture by epidermal hairs called glandular trichomes. Strains of Cannabis approved for industrial hemp production produce only minute amounts of this psychoactive drug, not enough for any physical or psychological effects. Typically, Hemp contains below 0.3% THC, while Cannabis grown for marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 or 7 % to 20% or even more.
However, cannabidiol as an anxiety reducer has almost none of these issues. One study had participants who took either 600 mg of CBD or a placebo drug. In a speaking test that followed, the group which underwent CBD oil treatment showed less anxiety. They also had a smaller degree of cognitive impairment and felt less discomfort overall as they spoke. In other words, their results were better than those of the placebo group.

Although cannabis can be used to make marijuana, CBD itself is non-psychoactive—meaning that it doesn’t get you high the way smoking or eating cannabis-related products containing THC (the plant's psychoactive compound) can. Still, there’s a lot doctors don’t know about CBD and its effects on the body, and a lot consumers should understand before trying it.